How Jane Fonda and Helen Mirren Shut Down the Champs-Élysées and Shook Up Paris Fashion Week

Admit it, Paris Fashion Week has been missing something. Sure, there have been plenty of highlights, with Balmain bringing aughts supermodels back to the catwalk and Stella Tennant delivering a highlander moment at Balenciaga. But there have been relatively few moments when the runways have seemed truly inclusive, extraordinary, or even fun. Perhaps that’s why L’Oréal’s special fashion show felt so different. After years as a backstage mainstay, this season the beauty giant chose to honor Paris by giving its own show on the Champs-Élysées. The occasion brought out its roster of international brand ambassadors and featured a host of French design talent, including Balmain’s Olivier Rousteing—their latest lipstick collaborator.

The upbeat attitude and inclusive spirit allowed for something that could have benefited the entire week: personality and diversity of size and age. Displaying the range of their talent pool, the brand enlisted everyone from supermodels Irina Shayk, Liya Kebede, and Doutzen Kroes to plus-size model Iskra Lawrence and male models Alpha Dia and Vincent Lacrocq. In a season dominated by lithe high schoolers, the sight of Jane Fonda and Helen Mirren taking the stage, at ages 79 and 72 respectively, felt like a breath of fresh air. Both women provided viral moments, with Fonda pausing to dip into the audience and offer Naomi Campbell a hug and Mirren swinging a cane like a boss. Joined by pop diva Cheryl Tweedy, who made her runway first appearance since the birth of son Bear with One Direction’s Liam Payne, and trendsetting Chinese pop legend Chris Lee, the group was heavy on star power.

Charisma was expected of screen legends, music stars, and models alike, and they delivered with glee. All smiled, laughed, stomped, and strutted in a show of buoyant energy.